Upcoming Beijing Music Festival to feature 700 artists

The 29th Beijing Music Festival will return to the Chinese capital from Oct 9 to 20, bringing together nearly 700 artists from 32 countries for a program spanning opera, symphonic and chamber music, world music and cross-genre performances.

The festival will present 12 main-stage performances featuring nine orchestras, alongside more than 20 public events and a series of cultural and tourism activities.

The festival will open on Oct 9 at the National Centre for the Performing Arts, where conductor Charles Dutoit and pianist Elisabeth Leonskaja will perform with the Symphony Orchestra Alliance-BMF Festival Orchestra, specially assembled from leading orchestras across China.

The London Philharmonic Orchestra will give two concerts under its principal conductor Edward Gardner. Other visiting and Chinese ensembles include the Singapore Symphony Orchestra, Shanghai Symphony Orchestra, China Philharmonic Orchestra, and Beijing Symphony Orchestra.

Opera will again be a major focus. A new co-production of Mozart's The Magic Flute, created by Opera Hong Kong, State Opera South Australia, the Beijing Music Festival and the China National Opera House, will be staged on Oct 10 and 11.

The festival will also look beyond the classical canon. Sitar virtuoso Anoushka Shankar will perform with friends on Oct 14, while the closing concert on Oct 20 will bring together conductor Yang Yang, the Beijing Symphony Orchestra, pianist Ju Xiaofu and Chinese rock pioneer Cui Jian.

Since its founding in 1998, the festival has been supporting emerging talents.

Young musicians will also take center stage this year, including violinist Cai Keyi and violist He Ziyu, who will perform Mozart's Sinfonia Concertante for Violin, Viola and Orchestra with the Singapore Symphony Orchestra.

Beyond the concert hall, the festival will expand its "Travel with Music" initiative through pop-up events, themed markets, tourism routes and partnerships with commercial and cultural venues across Beijing. Public programs will include open rehearsals, backstage experiences, opera introductions, masterclasses and youth orchestra performances.